Dispensing container



C. S. BEARDSLEY DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed April 22, 1943 4PatentedNev'. 12,1946

DISPEN SING CONTER Charles S. Beardsley, Elkhartf'lnd., assigner toMiles Laboratories, Inc., Elkhart, Ind., a corporation of IndianaApplication April 22, 1943, Serial o.`484,023

3 Claims. (Cl. 206442) This invention relates to containers, and has todo more particularly with dispensing containers for packaging articlessuch, for example. as vitamin-containing tablets and analogous articles,so as to facilitate dispensing oi such articles in limited quantitiesfor individual use.

My invention is directed to a container of the character statedcomprising parts so constructed.

and related that the container may readily be adapted for dispensingdifferent kinds of tablets or tablets all of the same kind. For example,it often is desirable for a person to take tablets containing vitamin Bcomplex, commonly termed vitamin B tablets, and tablets containingvitamin A and vitamin D, commonly termed vitamin A and D tablets. On theother hand, another person may require tablets of but one kind, such aseither vitamin B tablets or vitamin A and D tablets. My invention isdirected to a container readily adaptable to meet either conditionreferred to. In addition, the container of my invention is of suchcharacter that it may readily 4be charged or loaded with the tablets oranalogous `of the enclosing member, when the tray is in its normalclosed position within such enclosing member, the tray cover beingprovided with an opening exposed by projection of the tray beyond theenclosing member, which opening is oi a size to accommodate passage ofan article therethrough for dispensing of the articles as desired. Incharging the tray, the cover therefor is re moved thus providing an opentop tray particularly suitable for machine charging. I also pro vide apartition member of a character to be removably mounted within the trayfor separating it interiorly into a plurality of compartments, thispartition member being readily removable so as to adapt the containerfor use with one kind of articles ortablets. More speciiically,'the

- partition member separates the tray interiorly vopening whereby, byprojecting the tray beyond either end of the enclosing member, a tabletof either kind desired may be dispensed from the tray. If it is desiredto use the container for one kind of tablet only, the partition membermay be removed, in which case the tray cover may rest upon the tabletswithin the tray and the tablets may be dispensed through the opening ateither end of the tray cover. The container ci my ine vention is ofsimple construction, comprises `a minimum of parts, and may be producedat'slight cost, all of which are important considerations in thepackaging art. Further objects and ativantages of my invention willappear from the detail description.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a container embody I ing my invention, withthe tray oi the container 1, the articles within the tray being shown inelevation Figure 3 is a plan view, on the same'scale as Figure 1, o fthe tray completely removed-from the enclosing member and charged withthe articles to be dispensed; l

Figure 4 isla plan view similar to Figure 3, l

but with the".tray cover member removed, showing the partition member inplace within the tray? .i

Figure a detail perspective view of the partition member; and y Figure 6is a View, similar to Figure 1, oi a modified form of containerembodying my inu vention.

The 'container of my invention comprises an enclosing member 6 and atray l slidable there in, both made of boxboard or any other suitablematerial. The enclosing member 6 is in the form oi a tube of rectangularcross section com- 'prising side walls 8 and 9, and top and bottom wallslil and li, respectively, together dening a tube open at its ends.,

Tray l corresponds in length to the enclosing member 6, and is of properwidth and height to fit slidably and snugly within member 6. Thisconnected together by side walls i5 and it, also extending upward frombottom wall l2, the end walls and the side wallstogetl'ler constituting,in eiect, an upwardly projecting'flange extending about the periphery'ofbottom wall l2. In order to divide the tray l interiorly into separatecompartments, I provide a partition structure or lmember il convenientlyformed from a single piece of boxboard or other suitable materialpossessing considerable rigidity, which is appropriately cut and scoredso as to provide two flanges il hinged together at their upper edges atI9 and each hinged, at its lower edges, to a base flap 20. The enclosingtubular member 6 and the tray 1 are preferably of rectangular shape inplan, as shown, and the base portion of the partition member l1 islikewise of rectangular shape in plan and of proper dimensions to fitsnugly within tray 1 with the anges I8 in abutting relation, as shown inFigure 2. When the partition member I1 is thus disposed within the tray1, the anges I8 thereof together constitute a partition 2| extendingtransversely of tray 1 and separating the interior thereof into twoseparate compartments, as shown in Figure 4. The base naps 20 of thepartition member fit snugly between the side walls of the tray andbetween the end walls thereof and partition 2|, so that the partitionmember I? is thus restrained against relative movement lengthwise andtransversely of the tray.

The top of tray 'l is closed by a cover member 212 in the form of a fiatsheet of boxboard or other suitable material of considerable rigidity.Cover member 22 fits snugly within tray 1, as shown in Figure 3, so asto be confined thereby against objectionable relative movement eitherlengthwise or transversely of the tray. When the partition member Il isemployed, partition 2|l serves to space cover member 22 from the bottomof the tray to accommodate tablets t or analogous articles placed in thetray to be dispensed therefrom. The parts are so proportioned that covermember 22 is restrained against objectionable outward :movementrelative-to tray 1, by top wall I of the enclosing member 6, as will beclear from Figure 2. Cover member 22 is provided, at each end portion,with an opening of suitable size for discharge therethrough of one ofthe articles or tablets t. In Figure 3 cover member 22 is shown asprovided, at diagonally opposite corners thereof, with substantiallyL-shaped notches 23 which, together with the contiguous portions of theside and the end walls of tray 1, provide openings 24 of a size toaccommodate ready passage therethrough of one of the tablets t. It willbe understood that, within the broader aspects of my invention, theopenings for dispensing the tablets may be otherwise suitably disposed,though I preferably form these openings in the manner shown anddescribed, since location thereof at the corners of the tray cover 22facilitates dispensing of thev articles, as will appear more fullypresently.

It may be assumed, for purposes of description, that the left handcompartment of tray 'l contains A and D vitamin tablets, and that theright hand compartment contains B vitamin tablets, the left hand end andthe right hand end of the `tray cover 22 being marked accordingly, as inFigure 3. Normally the tray 'I is disposed entirely within the enclosingmember 6, at which time the dispensing openings 24 of tray cover 22 willunderlie top wall HJ of enclosing member 6, wall I0 then serving as aclosure for opening 24 so as rto prevent passage therethrough of thetablets t, while also serving, as above noted, to restrain tray cover 22against objectionable outward movement relative to tray '1. In order todispense the A and D tablets, tray l is projected beyond the left handend of enclosing member 6, as viewed in Figure 1, into substantially theposition shown in that figure, so as to dispose opening 24 outwardbeyond the enclosing member. Then by tilting the container downward andforward toward or in the direction of the exposed opening 24, andshaking it slightly, one of the tablets t is readily discharged ordispensed through that opening. Obviously, as many tablets as desiredmay be dispensed successively in that manner. The side and the end wallsof -the tray which converge toward the opening 24, in addition t0closing the sides of this opening, also function as guide elements todirect one of the tablets t into position underlying opening 24 fordischarge therethrough. In like manner, by projecting tray 'l beyond theright hand end. of enclosing member 6 to the proper extent, one or moreof the vitamin B tablets may be dispensed from the container.

In the above description oi.' the container and its use, it has beenassumed that it is desired to charge the container with two differentkinds of tablets. But in many cases it is desired to charge thecontainer with only one kind of tablet. In such cases, the partitionmember I1 may be removed or omitted from the tray l, which then receivesone kind of tablet, the top of the tray being then closed by the traycover member 22, this member then resting upon the tablets t. With thatarrangement the tray 1 may be pro- Jected beyond either end of theenclosing member 6 for dispensing the tablets from the container. Whenthe container is to be used for but one kind of tablet, I preferablydispose the notches 23 at the same side of cover member 22, as shown inFigure 6. 'I'he container shown in this figure is otherwise the same asthat shown in Figure l, with, of course, the partition member omitted,and requires no further description.

' If desired, the container of Figure 6 may be used to dispense twodifferent kinds of tablets, by placing the partition member I1 therein.Preferably, however, I use the container of Figures 1 to 5, inclusive,for dispensing two different kinds of tablets, since the diagonallyopposite arrangement of the notches 23 facilitates selection of thedesired kind of tablet.

In either case-that is, whether the container is to be used fordispensing one kind of tablet or two kinds of tablets-the tray cover 22is omitted from the tray during q the operation of charging or fillingthetray with the articles to be dispensed, which operation, as abovenoted,

preferably is performed by automatic machinery of known type. 'I'hecontainer is thus well adapted for charging by automatic machinery,whether it is to be used for dispensing one kind of tablet or two kindsof tablets. By placing the partition member I1 in the tray 1, thecontainer is adapted for receiving and dispensing twokinds of tabletsand, by omitting the partition member I'I from the tray, the containeris adapted for receiving one kind of tablet. Obviously, if desired, thepartition member may be utilized when the container is to receive butone kind of tablet, though -that is not necessary, and the omission ofthe partition member where but one kind of tablet is to be dispensed isconducive to reduced cost, an item of importance in the packaging oftablets and like articles in large volume and on a quantity productionbasis. It will be understood, of course. that the tray cover 22 may beappropriately marked to indicate the particular kind or kinds of tabletsor analogous articles with which the container is charged and which!rare to be dispensed therefrom. It will also be understood that changesin details of construotion and arrangement of parts of my invention maybe resorted to without departing from the field and scope thereof, and Iintend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of theappended claims, in this application, in Winch the preferred form onlyof my invention has been disclosed.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing container, a tubular enclosing member of'substantially rectangular crosssection comprising side and top andbottorn walls", an open top tray for articles to be dispensed slidablymounted in said enclosing member and comprising a bottom wall and sideand end walls, said tray substantially conforming in length to saidenclosing member and the latter being open at its ends for projectionbeyondl either end thereof of said tray, a transverse partitionseparating said tray `lengthwise into two compartments each unobstructedinteriorly for free movement of the contained articles `from each sideof said partition to the corresponding end of said tray, and a covermember disposed in the upper portion of said tray, said partitioncomprising a separating element of a height to extend above the articlesto be dispensed and being effective for supporting said cover memberspaced from the bottom wall of said tray. said cover member beingrestrained by said side and end walls of said tray against relativetransverse and endwise movement, said cover member being free from saidtray for removal therefrom and having adjacent each end an ope fordispensing the articles.

seating on the bottom wall thereof with,v said element extendingtransversely of and separating said tray lengthwise into twocompartments each unobstructed interiorly for free movement of thesection comprising side and top and bottom walls, f

by saidv separating element and restrained by said' side and end wallsyof said tray against relative transverse and endwise movement, saidcover 4member being free from said tray for removal therefrom and havingadjacent each end an opening for dispensing the articles.

3. In a dispensing container, a tubular enclosing member ofsubstantially rectangular crossan open top tray for articles to bedispensed slidably mounted in said enclosing member and comprising abottom wall and side and end walls,

said tray substantially conforming in length to said enclosing memberand the latter being open at its ends for projection beyond either end2. In a dispensing container, a tubular enclosing member ofsubstantially rectangular crosssection comprising side and top andbottom walls, an open top tray for articles to be dispensed slidablymounted in said enclosing member and comprising a bottom wall and sideand end walls, said tray substantially conforming in length to saidenclosing member and the latter being open at its ends for projectionbeyond either end thereof of said tray, a partition structure comprisinga separating element of a height to extend above the articles to bedispensed and base flaps extending from the lower portion of saidelement fitting within said tray and removably thereof of said tray, apartition structure comprising a sheet of material of considerablerigidity folded to provide two central upwardly extending flangesdisposed substantially in face to face contact together constituting acentral upwardly extending separating element of a height to extendabove the articles to `be dispensed and nat base flaps lextending fromthe lower portion of said element fitting within said tray and removablyseating on the bottom wall thereof with said element extendingtransversely of and separating said tray lengthwise into twocompartments, and a cover member disposed in the upper portion of saidtray spaced from the bottom wall thereof by said separating element andrestrained by said side and end walls of said tray against relativetransverse and endwise movement. said cover member .being freefrom saidtray for removal therefrom and having adjacent each end an opening fordispensing the articles.

CHARLES s. BEARDSLEY.

